Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern whose affair with President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment, is speaking out.

Lewinsky, now 40, was in her early 20s when she and Clinton had what she describes as "a consensual relationship" during his presidency.

The former intern writes about the affair in the June issue of Vanity Fair magazine, out this month, calling it something she "deeply" regrets.

Referring to Clinton as her "boss," Lewinsky writes that he "took advantage of her," but that any "abuse" came in the aftermath of the affair, when she says she was "made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position."

The House of Representatives impeached Clinton for lying under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky, but the Senate acquitted him of all charges. Since then, the Democrat has remained a popular political figure.

In excerpts released from Vanity Fair, Lewinsky says the public humiliation she suffered as a result of the scandal made her suicidal.

Thanks to news and gossip website Drudge Report, she says might be "the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet," and that she now has a goal of getting involved with "efforts on behalf of victims of online humiliation and harassment."

Lewinsky says she decided to open up now to "take back" her narrative and "give a purpose" to her past.

Her decision comes as the former president's wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, mulls her own run for president in 2016.